Anthony Joshua could have missed out on the chance to get a fight with the Daniel Dubois vs Joseph Parker winner next.
Dubois defends the IBF heavyweight world championship against New Zealand’s Parker on February 22, live on Sky Sports Box Office.
If Britain’s Dubois is victorious, he’ll look to take on Oleksandr Usyk, the unified WBC, WBA and WBO titlist, for an undisputed heavyweight world championship in his next fight.
That would be a rematch for Dubois, who lost to Usyk in 2023 in Poland.
Usyk did visit the canvas in that fight, from a shot that was ruled low. The Ukrainian took his allotted recovery time and rose to halt Dubois in the ninth round.
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Matthew Macklin weighed up why it could be time for Anthony Joshua to retire from professional boxing: “What’s he got to gain, when he has so much to lose?”
Dubois went on to become the IBF champion last year and knocked out Anthony Joshua in his most recent fight.
Despite talk of an immediate rematch with Dubois, Joshua, formerly a unified champion himself, will likely have to wait for another world title shot.
“First of all, [Daniel Dubois] has got to get through a tough fight in Riyadh on February 22 against Parker,” promoter Frank Warren told Sky Sports News.
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Speaking on Toe2Toe, Andy Scott and Gary Logan disagreed on whether Anthony Joshua’s corner were giving him the right advice ahead of the fifth round which then saw Daniel Dubois claim victory.
“That is no walk in the park, that’s going to be a tough fight. If he comes through that, he’s got a lot of options.
“But the big fight that he wants is the rematch with Usyk. Very controversial [first] fight. Those four minutes in that fight when he hurt him – I thought it was a legal blow, I’m not going to go into all that stuff – but he hurt him and he probably gave him his toughest fight he’s had.
“I think he can beat him. I think the form he’s in now, I think he can beat Usyk.”
Then Dubois would be the undisputed world champion, the status Usyk held when he first beat Tyson Fury before he had to vacate the IBF belt.
“[Going undisputed] that’s what this heavyweight thing is all about,” Warren said.
Warren is convinced that Dubois will defeat Parker. The New Zealander has claimed he can take the champion to breaking point in their fight.
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Anthony Joshua had a look back at some of his most viral workouts and explained the story behind them.
But thinking Dubois will quit, Warren warned, would be a grave miscalculation. “[Jarrell] Miller did, [Filip] Hrgovic did and AJ did. They all said the same thing and he stopped them all. All of them. Stopped them all. Done it in style and come from behind in a couple of those fights,” the promoter explained.
“Against Hrgovic, you look at those first three rounds. It was a tough three rounds to get through but then he grit his teeth and showed what he’s about and it’s the same with AJ. Going into that fight with AJ, AJ was on a roll he had some good wins, the crowd was behind him. From the very first bell he [Dubois] was the governor.
“In the last four fights, including Usyk, he’s been the underdog and he’s upset the odds in three of those fights.
“Twenty-seven years of age, he’s matured not just physically but mentally. He’s showing what he’s all about. For the first time in five fights he goes in as the favourite, against a former world champion in Joe Parker, who is on a roll, a big roll at the moment.
“So this fight again is going to be something extra, extra special.”
Daniel Dubois vs Joseph Parker and the Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol rematch will be live on Saturday February 22 on Sky Sports Box Office. Book now!
